Standard HDD in a hotswap application

jmillerwv

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May 28, 2009
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Have a silly question. Can standard internal HDD's be used in a hotswappable application? Here is what I want to do. I am going to build a storage server for our company as well as a backup system. I was thinking of incorporating the 2 machines into 1. Using hotswapping for the backups so they can be removed and taken off site for safety. Then pluigged back into their respective slot when brought back in.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
jmillerwv
 
Solution
Jmillerwv

Quick answer: Yes. That's how all my backups are done. I have two enclosures that can hot-plug and hot-remove (as long as I remember to Safely Remove the media) drives, and this is where my backups, and offline storage, live. Shameless plug: http://kingwin.com/products/cate/mobile/racks/kf_1000_bk.asp

That said, two warnings: Whether or not hot-swap is enabled depends on the motherboard / controller and the OS. On my Asus P7P55D Deluxe, only one of the ports was hot-swappable under XP; they all are under Windows 7.

The second warning: Backups are critical for your business, and bare drives are vulnerable to static, falls, liquids, and large dogs. Have good, antistatic, secure storage for the removed drives. Make...

gtvr

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Jun 13, 2009
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What type of drives? SATA? I think it depends on the capabilities of the storage server, but I'd verify with the vendors of the various products.

My understanding is that SATA drives in general are hot-swappable.
 
Jmillerwv

Quick answer: Yes. That's how all my backups are done. I have two enclosures that can hot-plug and hot-remove (as long as I remember to Safely Remove the media) drives, and this is where my backups, and offline storage, live. Shameless plug: http://kingwin.com/products/cate/mobile/racks/kf_1000_bk.asp

That said, two warnings: Whether or not hot-swap is enabled depends on the motherboard / controller and the OS. On my Asus P7P55D Deluxe, only one of the ports was hot-swappable under XP; they all are under Windows 7.

The second warning: Backups are critical for your business, and bare drives are vulnerable to static, falls, liquids, and large dogs. Have good, antistatic, secure storage for the removed drives. Make copies and send them off-site if your business depends on them - they won't do you any good if the roof of your datacenter collapsed from the snow.

Edit: I just re-read your post to make sure that I was on topic. You do take backups offsite. Good for you.
 
Solution

jmillerwv

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May 28, 2009
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WyomingKnott,
Thanks for your reply. I looked at the "Shameless" plug and that looks good. Nice idea. The build will be using SuperMicro chassis as well as SuperMicro motherboard. The equipment is constructed for hotswapping and I'll probably use Win7 or Win server 2008 not sure yet. I plan on using antistatic bags to carry the drives off site in. Again thanks for the reply.
jmillerwv